Orlando Parkhopper

The entrance to Adventureland is open again but the sign has gone missing, there are soft openings occurring with the new Haunted Mansion queue and there are some interesting questions being raised regarding a permit that's been filed for the Grand Floridian. Cheetah Hunt (Busch Gardens Tampa) has finally finished installing the remainder of the track and Mardi Gras (Universal) is really kicking it into high gear!

After taking a dip in the pool for the first time in months, I think it's safe to say that Spring has come to Florida. With that in mind there are a lot of outdoor activities to enjoy before the summer humidity really kicks in. This week we bring you parts of the state that are generally overlooked by guests visiting the sunshine state. King Eric takes us on a canoe ride in Wekiva Springs State Park and I (SummerinFL) go on a horseback ride in Lithia, FL.

Even if you live somewhere that might still be feeling the winter cold, if you whip up your favorite summer drink, take a seat and continue reading, it might feel a little warmer in your area of the world.

MAGIC KINGDOM:

ADVENTURELAND:

The new Adventureland bridge was open on Saturday, though it lacked any signage whatsoever. The temporary bypass bridge was ALSO open, though the support structures below it look so temporary that I have to believe it will go away someday soon.

The view from Adventureland

LIBERTY SQUARE:

While not officially scheduled to open until April 1st, the new Haunted Mansion queue held some soft openings within the past week. While Nbodyhome and Jeff Lange bring us a detailed report on the Weekend Update this week, here is the video and photo recap of the new offerings.

An obscured view of Mickey’s Toontown Fair shows the entrance sign (minus most of the characters) and the merchandise tent (it’s staying). Elsewhere you can see the tent from Mickey’s house and the Barnstormer. All other buildings are gone. It’s a hilarious irony that practically the only buildings left standing are the “temporary” ones!

One of the frequent Disney-fanboy complaints that I see as the most illogical is that there is “too much Pixar” coming into Walt Disney World and Disneyland. This is ridiculous. Pixar IS Disney. Buzz Lightyear is inextricably Disney just like Mickey Mouse. Although Buzz wasn’t created by Walt himself, neither were Ariel or Simba, and no one seems to complain about their presence in the parks. From about 1998 until 2009, anything high quality associated with Disney was also Pixar. Disney’s traditional hand-drawn animation division wasn’t exactly the paramount of quality at that time. Personally, I’d rather see an attraction made out of an excellent Disney movie, like Monsters, Inc., than out of garbage, like Chicken Little.

Beyond the facts that Pixar is Disney and Pixar is high-quality Disney, Pixar is actually fairly under-represented in Walt Disney World and Disneyland. There are only a handful of Pixar attractions spread across the resorts, whereas there are a plethora of ones based on traditional hand drawn animation. Heck, Disneyland’s Fantasyland ALONE includes more attractions based on hand-drawn animation than all of the Pixar attractions in all of the U.S. parks combined. To be sure, not all of the Pixar attractions have been placed in the ideal lands (Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor in Tomorrowland?), but that's another matter, entirely.

As for this photo, I went with an ultra-wide angle lens with the camera positioned low to the ground and angled up to create an imposing sense of the Pixar Studios gateway overhead. I've found Pixar Place's architecture to be a somewhat bland subject without the drama created by the ultra-wide angle lens, so I almost always use that when photographing this area.

In the lobby of the Animation building, the Tangled display cases have been replaced with new artifacts.

One display case now has objects from Cars 2.

The other display case has material from the new Winnie the Pooh movie.

ANIMAL KINGDOM:Rumor Alert!! Apparently the yeti is currently tarped over with a possible fix in the near future. Let's hope this larger than life AA is getting the TLC it deserves!

The dreaded black tarp is still there on Big Thunder (we checked this weekend), but that was about the only negative thing we saw on what was otherwise a fabulous day at the park. March is truly the month to visit here. Nice, warm temperatures, but not quite overbearing yet. Just slightly cool in the evenings.

Of particular note this weekend was a little entertainment oddity I’ve seen before, but not in some years: the Frontierland Hoedown.

It’s a small dance show staged right in the middle of the walkway in Frontierland. It’s not advertised or listed on the schedule of programming; you just have to get lucky to see it (or ask a Cast Member, I suppose, since they have access to more complete entertainment guides).

In a nutshell, it’s six characters (Clarabell Cow, Horace Horsecollar, Brer Bear, Brer Rabbit, Big Al, and Wendell) and a hatful of regular Cast Members just dancing to some synchronized steps. It’s meant to look like a flash mob … Disney’s version of people assembling suddenly and spontaneously for the express purpose of dancing. I can’t even tell if the CMs are “regular” CMs working nearby jobs—I assume that’s the case, since they just melted away back into the crowd afterward. And there were probably about a dozen of them, wearing different Frontierland costumes.

They involved the crowd, too, via the hokey pokey and a conga-style line. Expect your young child to get pressed into service in the dancing!

It’s good fun. In fact, it’s great fun. Yes, the sucker can get in your way (this is how I’ve often viewed it in the past—as something in the way). But it’s well worth your time to stop and smell the roses in this case. It feels like classic Disney, the Disney of yesteryear, to put on such a show without obvious commercialism. It feels as if Disney cares, and that’s a wonderful thing to experience as a visitor.

Possible Grand Floridian DVC unit coming?

Recently filed with the South Florida Water Management District is a set of plans for an unspecified building between the Grand Floridian and Wedding pavilion. There is apparently a reworking of drainage, as well as a reworking of the shoreline along Seven Seas Lagoon. While the plans don't specify what the building is for, it seems apparent a DVC unit for the resort is an option. While of course there's no guarantee that it will come to fruition, it is interesting that a permit was filed with the water district.

High School Seniors Can Also Enjoy Exclusive Access to
Two World-Class Theme Parks, Nonstop Entertainment and More
Tickets on Sale Now with High School Student Advisors for Orlando’s Hottest Grad Party

WHAT: Universal Orlando’s Grad Bash 2011 is Orlando’s hottest high school graduation event where graduates can celebrate with exclusive access to two world-class theme parks, street entertainment and live performances by some of today’s most popular musical artists.

WHEN: April 15, April 30, May 6, May 7
7 p.m. to 2 a.m.

This year’s talent lineup includes Jason DeRulo – the artist behind smash hits like “Whatcha Say” and “In My Head;” Reggaeton rapper Pitbull, also known as “Mr. 305;” five-time 2011 Grammy award nominee B.o.B.; and BET’s 2008 “DJ of the Year,” DJ Khaled. Together, this dynamic group of acts lays claim to 11 platinum and multi-platinum singles and will be performing live for high school graduates on the Music Plaza Stage at Universal Studios Florida. Performance dates are listed below.

Students also get late-night access to pulse-pounding rides and attractions at both Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. They can soar above Hogwarts on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, speed through darkness on Revenge of the Mummy and rock out at 65 mph on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.

High school seniors are encouraged to book their spot at Universal Orlando’s Grad Bash with their student advisor. For more information on the event, visit Gradbash at Universal Orlando Florida.

Every Saturday and select nights through April 23rd, catch a live concert by some of the biggest names in music, our most spectacular parade ever, colorful street performers, authentic Cajun food, beads by the handful and more.

Party in the streets as the sounds of The Big Easy fill the air of Universal Orlando® Resort. It's Beads, Bands and Good Times for everyone - Only at Universal Studios® Mardi Gras.

King Eric brings us a few rocking photos from the Neon Trees concert and in correlation, a few pictures of the area during the day when the crowds have quieted down a bit from all that partying!

Neon Trees rock Universal Orlando's Mardis Gras!

KingEric found himself rocking out too much to take photos and video, but here is a picture of him rocking it out!

So instead of concert pics, we are going to take a look at that area of the park during the quieter portion of the day when most Mardi Gras attendees are still recuperating from the night's festivities.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 (Tampa, FL) – Construction crews worked into the evening on Monday to install the final piece of track that completes Cheetah Hunt’s epic 4,429-foot run – a record length among Busch Gardens Tampa’s coasters. The final section, which completes the “jump” over the Skyride’s cables, was bolted into place just before 9:30 p.m.

Even with the completion of the track, the work is far from over in preparing the new mega-attraction for its May 27th grand opening. Crews will spend the next two months finishing the intricate sculpting – or “theming” – of the coasters’ surrounding architecture.

Construction also continues on innovative Cheetah Run habitat, which will house more than a dozen of the highly endangered cats and offer guests unique opportunities to get up-close and witness a cheetah’s speed first-hand during daily sprints.

Jack Hanna WeekendApril 22-24
Busch Gardens welcomes celebrity animal expert Jack Hanna for an Earth Day celebration. “Jungle Jack” -- recognized world over for his deep knowledge of and boundless enthusiasm for wild animals and wildlife conservation – introduces guests to exotic and endangered animals in his own inimitable way during special shows and exclusive up-close encounters. Animal shows daily at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the Stanleyville Theatre.
Other events during Jack Hanna Weekend include "Breakfast With Jack Hannah", "Jack Hannah Family Sleepover" and "Jack Hannah Serengeti Night Safari". More details on these events can be found at the link below.
Schedule:

Daily: Animal Show - 2pm and 4pm

April 23 - Breakfast with Jack Hannah

April 22 & 23 - Jack Hannah Family Sleepover

April 22 & 23 - Jack Hannah Serengti Night Safari

There are so many beautiful animals at BGT that it's easy to miss them when you're caught up in all the high energy roller coaster action, but aimster continues to capture what some of us who don't go for thrills might love about this overlooked park.

Bay Area Renaissance Festival
Now thru Apr 17 - Tampa, FL
Grab a turkey leg, put on your best corset and take in a joust. There is a lot of fun to be had at the Annual Bay Area Renaissance Festival. Get dirty with the Filthy Rotten Scoundrels and then clean yourself up with the Washer Well Wenches. Located on the MOSI grounds in Tampa, off Fowler Ave, there is something for everyone in what promises to be a day of fun and merriment. Huzzah!!

In addition to our normal listings for Outside the Mouse, we thought it would be a great idea to showcase the beautiful amounts of nature that Florida has to offer, with a total of 160 state parks and one national park there is something for the outdoor adventurer in all of us.

After an amazing Mardi Gras Concert KingEric decided it was time to get back to nature, and go canoeing. So KingEric grabbed his gear and headed to Wekiwa Springs State Park.

Located at the headwaters of the Wekiva River, the beautiful vistas within this park offer a glimpse of what Central Florida looked like when Timucuan Indians fished and hunted these lands. Just one hour from most central Florida attractions, Wekiwa Springs offers visitors the opportunity to relax in a natural setting, enjoy a picnic, or take a swim in the cool spring.

Wekiva Springs is a state park about an hour from the Walt Disney World Resort. The entrance fee is $6.00 per car, and canoes are $15.00 for 2 hours of rental. While exploring Wekiva Springs we came across beautiful fish, turtles, racoons, otters, butterflies, birds, and other wildlife. Truly an excursion that is worth your time that shows you a part of Florida that most tourists don't necessarily get to see.

In another area of the state, about 62 miles from WDW, I had the opportunity to take my daughter horseback riding. It was a fun experience, that sometimes made me feel like I was in Africa, on safari. Ok, I was reaching a bit but it was a definitely a unique experience that we will never forget.

Red Fox Stables is located in Lithia, FL and offers guided trail rides, birthday parties, horse camps and riding lessons. For $35.00 a person, you can take a guided trail ride, complete with a complimentary bottle of water for your journey.

We had a great time, the weather was perfect, the trail was very peaceful and quiet, it was very relaxing. So much so that we all wanted to take a nap after we were finished!!

Don't forget to check out the other areas of MiceChat that offer news, updates and photos about the other Disney Parks around the World!

eh, I understand that Pixar IS Disney. I think the problem is alot of the 90's films never saw permanent installation the way the current Pixar stuff has.

I'd also point out that Disney fans are more likely burned out on Toy Story then any other pixar franchise. There might not be enough Pixar in the parks but there certainly is enough of Toy Story at this point...

Pixar is actually fairly under-represented in Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Disneyland’s Fantasyland ALONE includes more attractions based on hand-drawn animation than all of the Pixar attractions in all of the U.S. parks combined.

Pixar is underrepresented if you compare Pixar and Disney equally, but remember, WDAS has made 50 animated films, Pixar has only made 11. Also when people refer to the amount of Pixar attractions, I think they're referring to the fact that so many NEW attractions being built are Pixar, and that Disney often seems to want to shove Pixar attractions into the parks regardless if whether or not it makes any thematic sense.

As for the Fantasyland thing, that's simply wrong. Off the top of my head:

On the Pixar topic - It isn't "Too Many" Pixar attractions that gets my goat, but rather poor or poorly placed Pixar attractions.

Characters don't need to be shoehorned into Epcot's existing attractions and Monsters don't belong in Tomorrowland (any more than Stitch does).

Quality is quality. If Disney creates a great attraction which fits the theme of its location - whether it is Pixar, Disney, Marvel or an entirely new creation does not matter to me.

It has been a long time since Disney has brought us an attraction of Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror or Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye quality. That is the real problem . . . not Pixar.

Pixar is underrepresented if you compare Pixar and Disney equally, but remember, WDAS has made 50 animated films, Pixar has only made 11. Also when people refer to the amount of Pixar attractions, I think they're referring to the fact that so many NEW attractions being built are Pixar, and that Disney often seems to want to shove Pixar attractions into the parks regardless if whether or not it makes any thematic sense.

As for the Fantasyland thing, that's simply wrong. Off the top of my head:

To the point about the number of films WDAS has made versus the number Pixar has made, to me, the pertinent number is the number of high quality films each has made. Arguably, Pixar has made 11 high quality films whereas maybe 2/3rds of WDAS' films are high quality.

With the exception of FLE in the Magic Kingdom, it seems to me that most new attractions are based on new properties. The new properties that are high quality are Pixar. Moreover, I think it's fair to say that Disney is playing catch up with the Pixar attractions, getting these ultra-popular properties into the parks when it can so they will be equally represented as compared to the WDAS properties that have had substantially longer periods of time to slowly amass attractions. Perhaps trying to play catch up in such a short period of time isn't the best strategy, but I think my point still stands that there isn't too much Pixar, per se.

As for your final point about the Fantasyland v. all Pixar attractions comparison...wow was I ever way off. My count missed a number of those, including (embarrassingly enough) all of a bug's land.

On the Pixar topic - It isn't "Too Many" Pixar attractions that gets my goat, but rather poor or poorly placed Pixar attractions.

Characters don't need to be shoehorned into Epcot's existing attractions and Monsters don't belong in Tomorrowland (any more than Stitch does).

Quality is quality. If Disney creates a great attraction which fits the theme of its location - whether it is Pixar, Disney, Marvel or an entirely new creation does not matter to me.

It has been a long time since Disney has brought us an attraction of Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror or Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye quality. That is the real problem . . . not Pixar.

Agreed completely. I think what happens is that people conflate Pixar attractions with attractions in the wrong land or lacking in substantive quality. I am a bit torn on The Seas. While I'd prefer to keep characters out of Epcot, something had to be done with that pavilion, or it was heading for a Horizons-like fate. The problem there, I think, can be attributed to guests more than Disney. If your clientele dictates that you produce dumbed-down attractions, it's in your best interests to produce dumbed-down attractions. There are those of us out there who loved EPCOT Center circa 80s and early 90s, but the unfortunate reality is that this theme park wouldn't appeal to theme park masses of today. Today's generation has grown up on thrills and instant gratification--anything with story, theme, depth, and *gasp* an intellectual component isn't going to be a success. To that end, I think it's hard to fault Disney for making (business) decisions that deviate from the original vision of EPCOT Center. But I digress...

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor I find to be an enjoyable attraction, but incredibly poorly located. Again, though, this is a criticism not of the substance of the attraction, but of its form. This seems to be one of the less-popular Disney attractions among the online community, and I can't help but wonder if some claim to hate its substance because they actually hate its location. Or perhaps I'm just one of those folks who likes dumbed-down attractions! ;-P

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see more attractions as wonderful as ToT, Indy, and Splash. I'm also not trying to give Disney a pass for resting on its laurels are not building that caliber of attractions. I'm just trying to defend the number of Pixar attractions that have been built in recent years.

It has been a long time since Disney has brought us an attraction of Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror or Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye quality. That is the real problem . . . not Pixar.

This is kind of random but in regards to the Frontierland Hoedown or now titled the Frontierland Hoedown Happening, all of the cast members in it are entertainment cast members. They are just dressed to look like they are regular cast members to enhance the "flash mob" vibe. I'm also pretty sure they have them out walking around Frontierland a little bit before it starts and also right after it ends, once again to make it seem more like a flash mob.

Thanks for the great update! I love hearing about what is happening at WDW.

I understand that some resent PIxar because they think it is not "Disney." But Pixar is now owned by Disney so I feel that argument is settled. Here in California, we are awaiting the new Cars Land, which promises to be a completely immersive environment. As long has Disney produces quality, immersive attractions, I am happy.

Oh, how I loved to visit Wekiwa Springs when I was in the Navy back in the '70s. (Yes, I am that old.) I loved snorkeling there. One thing I used to do was go as far as I could into the spring, then turn around and let the water carry me back up to the surface. That's something you'll never experience in a water park!

On the Pixar topic - It isn't "Too Many" Pixar attractions that gets my goat, but rather poor or poorly placed Pixar attractions.

Characters don't need to be shoehorned into Epcot's existing attractions and Monsters don't belong in Tomorrowland (any more than Stitch does).

Quality is quality. If Disney creates a great attraction which fits the theme of its location - whether it is Pixar, Disney, Marvel or an entirely new creation does not matter to me.

It has been a long time since Disney has brought us an attraction of Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror or Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye quality. That is the real problem . . . not Pixar.

My problem is so many all at once. I understand fully that Pixar is an important part of the ever-changing Disney story...a very important one. However, my problem is...at Disneyland anyway....almost all of the last several rides are Pixar themed. Monsters, Toy Story, Nemo Subs, etc. What happened to not building rides based on films? Space and Big Thunder have nothing to do with a movie. Pirates and the Haunted Mansion didn't either (until after the fact). And if they insist on building rides with merchandise tie-ins...where's my Aladdin roller coaster through the Cave of Wonders? Where's my Tron lightcycle ride? And so many other ideas.......